Introducing our new project manager

Two weeks before I learned that Central Desi won an $80,000 grant to expand its work, I was ready to quit.

I was approaching the one-year mark of this newsletter, and I felt accomplished: I had created a proof of concept, partnered with respected news organizations on several big stories about the South Asian community and I had just participated in a statewide collaborative around segregation that included a segment on WNYC’s Weekend Edition. For a newsletter run in the few hours I have between providing for my family and caring for three young kids, I had punched above my weight.

My first instinct was to return the grant money and run. The grant is an unprecedented amount of support for this venture, something that could propel it to another level, but I know already that it only means more work and more struggle. Transforming a newsletter into a sustainable business is not easy.

Yet I am still here. In large part, that’s because of a fortuitous set of events that introduced me to Bilal Lakhani, our new project manager. With a partner to work with on this venture, I feel stronger, more capable and less like this is a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants endeavor.

You’ll see big changes for Central Desi this fall as he and I work together. We are going to:

• hire reporting fellows to cover a wider swath of New Jersey’s South Asian community;

• relaunch the website so that Central Desi is more than just a newsletter, and there is a strong web presence where you can view our journalism; and

• experiment with new mediums! Bilal is an excellent podcaster, and he just launched Pehchaan, a podcast about extraordinary Pakistani Americans.

We are looking forward to finding new ways to bring you meaningful stories about the fabric of South Asian American life. This is uncharted territory, and I appreciate you being with us on the journey.

Why Bilal Lakhani is having an identity crisis

Bilal Lakhani has been a journalist and accomplished public relations professional for many years, but it’s only recently that he started working on a very personal venture. After struggling for many years with being a Pakistani who no longer lives in Pakistan, the New Jersey resident had his first child. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by choices that forced him to decide how Pakistani to raise his American-born child.

As it happens with many deep thinkers who create, Bilal’s inner struggle manifested itself into art. His podcast, Pehchaan, appears on the surface to be a series of interviews with Pakistani Americans about identity and careers. But I suspect it’s actually an investigation he’s conducting into how Pakistanis who have lived in America longer than he has have come to terms with the same identity challenges he now faces. He’s a lifelong learner, and he’s doing the work to better inform his choices.

I’m so glad that Bilal and I crossed paths and that we are going to collaborate on our projects. Here’s a little more about Bilal, in his words:

Bilal, you approached me online and then after a talk in New York City. How did you first come across Central Desi?

As someone who moved to New Jersey from Ohio during the pandemic, I struggled to find and connect with the Desi community here. I know it sounds crazy and funny now, but I literally couldn't find enough Desis to connect with in Jersey initially.

Last year, I was searching for an online platform or news resource that would enable me to better understand the Desi community in New Jersey, and that's when I came across Central Desi. I was fascinated by what the platform was trying to do and started following you on social media. That's how I found a panel you were speaking at in NYC, and I went there to say hello and tell you how amazing Central Desi is. I also ended up inviting you as a guest on my new podcast so I could tell your story and the story behind Central Desi to the world. (Editor’s note: We’ll share the episode when it posts!)

Being on Pehchaan was such an incredible experience for me. I felt like I got to tell my life story and weave the various threads into a cohesive whole. Why did you launch Pehchaan (which is a layered Urdu word that means “identity,” as well as “recognition” or “knowing”)?

I launched Pehchaan because I was going through an identity crisis.

Basically, I immigrated to the US in 2016 and still thought of Pakistan as “home” during my first few years here. All that changed when my daughter Layaal was born in December 2020. That's when I began to ask myself questions I've never asked before: What does it mean to be Pakistani American? What does it mean to call America home? How can I embody the best of what it means to both Pakistani and American?

I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I started Pehchaan to build a community where we can discover these answers together. Every Wednesday, I drop a new episode with an extraordinary Pakistani American to unpack their story and identity. The first is with former CNN Producer Kiran Khalid:

I’m so thrilled that you’re going to be working with me on Central Desi, and that I’ll get to help you grow your podcast. What do you hope to accomplish through Central Desi?

As you can tell by now, I'm fueled by a personal passion for storytelling and connecting with the Desi community in New Jersey. Ideally, my goal is to enable Central Desi to represent the full breadth of the Desi American experience, with a particular emphasis on elevating under-represented stories and voices.

In the process of building and nurturing a South Asian community through Central Desi, I'm also hoping to better understand my own identity and what it means to call New Jersey home for the rest of my life.

Ha, I love that you’ve committed to New Jersey for the rest of your life! I don’t know if I can say the same. What are your favorite things about living in New Jersey?

I love so many things about Jersey, starting from the lush green landscapes to the diverse culinary palettes that I get to try out. Perhaps my favorite thing, though, is how warm and welcoming people here are and how they accept you for who you are, even if you don't look like them.

I love that. Our diversity is really one of the coolest things about the Garden State. And the food! What is one of your favorite Desi restaurants in the state?

My all time favorite Desi restaurant in the state is Chai Chenak, which serves rich and flavorful chicken karhai as well as the best falooda in the US. But these days, my new flavor of the month is Chashni in Chatham. Their Saturday morning anda paratha is the best I've had outside of Pakistan and comes with a side of daal cooked in Desi ghee. I also love the ambience and the fact that it's a Pakistani restaurant that draws a large number of non-Pakistani patrons.

Thank you, Bilal! Muhammad Bilal Lakhani is a longtime journalist who leads communications for a major nonprofit fighting child sexual abuse. He’s also the founder of Pehchaan, a podcast about extraordinary Pakistani Americans, and our new project manager.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this issue, please forward it to a friend and invite them to subscribe. Let's make this a place for all Desis regardless of background, class or creed.

Central Desi is free for readers, but it takes time and resources to produce. If you want to get involved, please get in touch. ❤️